The Africa Center in East Harlem, Manhattan promotes African culture, business and policy at the intersection of modern Africa and the world.
Museum Mile Festival is a Fifth Avenue Museum Open House Block Party
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Neue Galerie, Guggenheim Museum, Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, Jewish Museum, Museum of the City of New York, El Museo del Barrio, Africa Center
UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan
Africa Center News
JUNE
Somali Film and Exhibition
“Except this time nothing returns from the ashes” is a short film and exhibition by Somali artists Asmaa Jama and Gouled Ahmed about how national narratives promote and erase people; at The Africa Center in East Harlem, Manhattan; from June 14 to September 1, 2024. FREE. theafricacenter.org 🇸🇴
Somali Film Exhibition Spoken Word
“Ash is our inheritance” is an evening of experimental sound and spoken word curated by Somali artist Asmaa Jama, featuring guest artists Ladan Osman, Caleb Giles, Samiya Bashir, and keiyaA; at The Africa Center in East Harlem, Manhattan; during the Museum Mile Festival on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, from 8-9pm. FREE. theafricacenter.org 🇸🇴
About The Africa Center
This is “The Africa Center” in New York City. There are organizations with similar names in other cities.
The Africa Center was founded in 1984 as the Center for African Art in Long Island City Queens. It was founded by Susan Mullin Vogel who was a former Associate Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Museum opened its Fifth Avenue at Central Park North location in 2019. The location has some significance as a cultural intersection.
Fifth Avenue is the border of Harlem and “El Barrio” East Harlem. Back in the day, Latin musicians (like Tito Puente) in East Harlem would go to Harlem to listen to African-American jazz. Black musicians in Harlem (like Dizzy Gillespie) would go to East Harlem and The Bronx to listen to Latin jazz.
The circle in front of the building is home to the Duke Ellington Statue. Duke Ellington was the most prolific American composer. East of Fifth Avenue, 110th St is Tito Puente Way. Tito Puente grew up at 53 East 110th St between Park and Madison Avenues. So the Museum is at the intersection of two legendary Black and Latin Jazz musicians.
Jazz is Creole (French-Afro-Caribbean), so no matter which side of the street you come from, in jazz we see our own reflection.
The Africa Center’s location at the intersection of Black and Latin invites us to better understand where we come from, and who we are now, as a way forward, towards creating a better future together.
Twitter @TheAfricaCenter
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The Africa Center Tickets
Many exhibitions are free and open to the public.
The Africa Center
1280 Fifth Avenue
(at 110th St, Duke Ellington Circle)
East Harlem, Manhattan
Subways
(2)(3)to 110th St, 1 block
(6) to 110th St, 3 blocks